I Do
by BlueBookworm512
Summary: Darren contemplates what would happen if Mr. Crepsley and Arra were to formally tie the knot. Canon one-shot. My first published fanfic and the winner of Rowan Rawr's Valentine's Day Contest! :D


"No way!" I gasped delightedly, slowly pushing myself up to a sitting position in my hammock to hear more.

"It's true, Gavner assured me, gesturing wildly as he continued his story. "There we were-Larten, Arra, and myself-in the middle of a vast forrest late at night. We were _supposed _to be on the lookout for telltale signs of the vampaneze, but Larten was too busy searching for exotic flowers for his new girlfriend to worry much about our mission. I guess he wanted to leave a good impression on Arra-you know, prove he was a 'proper gentleman' and all that.

"Anyway, Larten eventually found a bunch of flowers that looked satisfying to him, so he yanked them from the ground and went to give them to Arra. Now, I'll admit that that Larten has a _lot _of skill when it comes to hand-to-hand combat or something similar, but let's face it: he's no botanist. Not only did those flowers have nests of pesky bugs living in them, but he'd accidentally waded through a batch of poison ivy to while trying to get to them. He was covered in bites and rashes by the time he finally made it back to our camp site, no flowers in hand."

It hurt to laugh-my throat and lungs were still very raw after being exposed to a roomful of burning smoke in the Hall of Flames just one day earlier-but I couldn't help myself. Out of all the people who had been making regular visits to my cell after I'd barely survived that fatal, fiery Trial, Gavner Purl-a friendly Vampire General-was the only one who could truly keep my mind off of the intense physical pain induced by my wounds. He was a naturally funny person; add that to his penchant for telling gossip-laced stories of the distant past, and it made for some pretty hilarious tales.

As Gavner went on to tell me about the aftermath of Mr. Crepsley's failed attempt at flirtation ("Not that Arra would've wanted flowers anyway...what use would a vampiress get out of colorful plants?"), I heard footsteps down the hall approaching quickly. I hoped, for Gavner's sake, that it wasn't my mentor; as a person with hardly any sense of humor, Mr. Crepsley wouldn't take kindly to someone poking good-natured fun at his expense.

Sure enough, the drapes to my cell were pushed back to reveal the vampire in question. As usual, he was dressed in his typical red outfit, his dark scarlet cape billowing behind him. His orange crop of hair was in disarray, strands of it hanging loosely in his eyes. That, along with the dark circles under his eyes, was a testament to how tired he was. In one hand he held a clear, capped dish filled with some sort of thick, white liquid.

"What was that?" Mr. Crepsley inquired knowingly as he stood in the doorway, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

Thanks to Gavner's naturally booming voice, Mr. Crepsley might've managed to hear his entire recollection right from the start, in which case Gavner was in trouble-and he knew it. He stopped mid-sentence and nervously chuckled, just as a criminal does after he's been caught red-handed by the police. "Nothing, Larten," he replied. "Just entertaining Darren here with tales of our past missions."

"I do not know what you find so 'entertaining'about hostile, venomous insects and poisonous plants inflaming one's skin. I would like to see _you_ experience that level of irritation," Mr. Crepsley challenged. "You would not think it is so funny anymore."

"Probably not," Gavner agreed, an apologetic grin appearing on his face. He stood up from the chair he'd been sitting in and walked up to the doorway, turning to face me. "I guess I'll be heading out, Darren; I've got some business I need to attend to in the Hall of Princes. Planning war strategies and such." He sighed, like just talking about the work exhausted him.

Before walking out, he shot a sideways glance at Mr. Crepsley and clapped him on the shoulder. "Besides, I think I've tortured this hopeless romantic enough for one day," he teased. As Gavner walked down the hall, Mr. Crepsley rolled his eyes and shook his head at his friend's antics, but I could tell that he was trying hard not to smile.

"Speaking of irritated skin," he told me, gesturing to the dish he was holding, "I just went to see Seba in the storerooms, assuming he would know of remedies, balms, or creams that would help your burns. He did not disappoint. Currently, he is unable to abandon his post, but he sent me back with this lotion that he claims will greatly ease the pain of even the most singed flesh."

I smiled in relief at that. Seba Nile, the quartermaster of Vampire Mountain, was a widely revered, elderly vampire that had had seven hundred years of life to learn his fair share of medicinal secrets. Just a few days ago, he had taken me to the cave of Ba' Halens' spiders, where he'd applied a very soothing layer of special spiderwebs to my itchy skin. The webs had helped to get rid of the itch almost instantly, so I had no doubt that this lotion would be very effective as well.

As Mr. Crepsley pulled a stool next to my hammock and sat down, I noticed something odd about his arrival.

"Where's Arra?" I asked. Ever since he and I had been at Vampire Mountain, Mr. Crepsley seemed to be spending an awful amount of extra time with his former mate, and it was pretty unusual to see one of them go anywhere without the other tagging along.

"She is seeing to her daily General duties," Mr. Crepsley sighed, almost as if this fact disappointed him. "But I am sure that once she is finished with those commitments, she will make time to come and check on you."

_Only if _you're_ still here, _I thought wryly to myself (I knew better than to say it aloud.) Since fighting her on the bars and consequently earning her respect, I had become good friends with Arra Sails, and I knew that she liked to visit with me because she was genuinely concerned about me and my injuries. But that was only _part _of the reason why she made such frequent visits to my chamber; I had an inkling that, because the two had a lot of catching up to do, Mr. Crepsley's presence (he was in my chamber pretty often, making sure I was all right) greatly influenced where Arra chose to spend her free time.

"This will probably sting slightly," Mr. Crepsley warned as he unscrewed the cap from the dish and dipped his fingers in the bitter-smelling lotion. With his free hand, he gently lifted my scorched wrist and rubbed the lotion onto it. True to his word, I winced as the lotion's strong properties soaked into my flesh.

As Mr. Crepsley proceeded to cover my other wrist, along with my arms and legs (my hands and feet were too heavily bandaged to touch) in Seba's powerful concoction, I tried to distract myself by thinking about Gavner's story again. It seemed very weird to hear about Mr. Crepsley trying to be romantic around anyone; ever since I'd met him, I'd thought of him as the type of person that has always been a loner and would never seek companionship. Only very recently had I learned that he and Arra had a long (and apparently fulfilling) history together.

Now that I really thought about it, the two were still enjoying each other's company. As much as they tried to hide it, both of them always seemed to get in a slightly uplifted mood when the other was near. Though Mr. Crepsley had fervently denied it earlier, I had an inkling that he still had strong feelings for Arra, and she for him.

But if that was so, then why had they even 'broken up' in the first place? (Vampiric couples didn't really marry or divorce, they just agreed to stay with one partner until they both decided it was time to move on to someone else.) I still didn't know what had happened between them, and I would probably never find out; both Mr. Crepsley and Arra were secretive people by nature and would never let something like that slip out into the open.

I didn't bother much with dwelling on the questions surrounding that mystery; there was no point. However, if they missed each other as much as I thought they did, it could lead to something drastic happening. I was suddenly struck with another burning possibility:

_What if they were deciding to mate again?_

For some reason, the thought unsettled me. It wasn't because I didn't want them to be together; I actually thought they were perfect matches as far as their stern personalities went. It also wasn't because I was afraid of some silly side-effect of their partnership, like Mr. Crepsley forgetting all about me in his lovestruck phase. (The fact that he was sitting here with me, rubbing lotion into my wounds instead of spending his time seeking out something more pleasurable to do with Arra, disproved that theory; I knew that Mr. Crepsley cared about me now and always would care about me). However, there was no denying that if the two got together again, my life would be turned upside-down.

Questions concerning the vampiric mating process began to flood through my mind. How would they go about renewing their partnership? Was there some sort of informal ceremony that vampires underwent in order to mate? A license that had to be issued to them? Plus, once they were officially together again, where would they go? Would Arra come back to the Cirque du Freak with Mr. Crepsley, or would he stay here in the mountain with her?

What would happen to _me_?

After mentally considering a few more possibilities, I realized I was getting carried away thinking over something that, as of right now, I had no basis to worry about. Maybe my suspicions had been totally wrong and Mr. Crepsley and Arra _were _just good friends, and maybe that was as far as they would ever take their relationship again. With those two, who's to know how they really felt?

Mr. Crepsley continued to lather my skin in the strong lotion (which was starting to take a positive effect; my physical pain had been reduced to at least half of what it had been before). He hadn't said much of anything to me since he'd come into my chamber; so, to break the awkward silence, and because I wanted to address all these uncertainties clouding my thoughts, I decided to work up the nerve and dare to talk to him about it. However, I wouldn't just bombard him with interrogations; I figured that tackling the subject slowly was the best way to get an accurate answer.

I took a deep breath before hesitantly asking, "Mr Crepsley?"

"Hmm?" He stopped applying the lotion and looked down at me, inviting my question.

"Have you missed Arra?"

His eyes widened and his face reddened in response to such an unexpected inquiry. He considered my words as he nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Well... I have certainly enjoyed seeing her again; it is always nice to revisit with old friends from the past," he replied. He knew that wasn't the response I was looking for, so he went on to admit, "To answer your question: yes, I suppose, in recent years, I have missed her to a degree." 

"Enough to...? You know..." I left the question hanging.

Mr. Crepsley immediately sensed where this conversation was headed. He was readying himself to snap at me for my tactlessness, then looked down at my burns-which were still as raw and red as ever-and sighed, massaging his temples instead. "Darren, we have talked about this before," he replied as patiently as he could. "Put to rest whatever fantasies concerning a mating renewal between Arra and me may be forming in your mind, because I assure you, they will not be coming to fruition anytime soon."

"Are you sure?" I pressed, inquiring like a mischievous child. I was partly joking, but I was also seriously questioning a suspicion that I felt had a genuine chance of happening.

"Your next trial is only two days away," he swiftly reminded me. "It would do you well to stop investigating other peoples' personal lives and focus on resting and healing your burns."

Even though he hadn't given me a definite answer, I decided to let the matter drop for now. He was right; I only had forty-eight hours to prepare for my next Trial, and I was nowhere near to feeling 100% all right. Following his advice, I slowly turned onto my side and pressed my head against my pillow. Thanks to Seba's wonderful medicine, my pain had all but faded away, so I felt relaxed and ready for a couple of hours of decent, nightmare-free sleep, something I hadn't had since going inside the Hall of Flames.

Mr. Crepsley asked me if I wanted anything, and I said I didn't. I told him he could leave if he wanted to-there wasn't much he could do for me while I was asleep-but he said he would rather stay with me in case I needed him, and for that I was more grateful than I let on. As he settled himself into a nearby chair so he could monitor me while I slept, I closed my eyes and quickly drifted away into a much-needed and much-appreciated slumber.

The next thing I knew, I was sitting on a bench in the Hall of Princes. My first thought was that I'd somehow managed to sleepwalk all the way to the grand Hall in my horrible condition; however, after looking down at my body and seeing my perfectly healed flesh covered in a fancy black tuxedo, I knew I was dreaming. As I looked around me, I noticed that the entire Hall was completely filled with vampires dressed in similar ensembles. I recognized a few familiar faces among the throng: Vanez Blane, Vampire Mountain's games master; Harkat Mulds, the only Little Person in the crowd; and Kurda Smahlt, a blond pacifist vampire who'd been ridiculed by most of his peers but whom I'd taken an immediate liking to. They were all beaming towards the platform that held the row of Princes' thrones. I followed their gazes to see what was happening.

The main group of people on the platform was composed of Seba Nile also dressed in black, deviating from his preferred red clothing; Gavner Purl, who looked ridiculous with his muscular frame stuffed into a tightly-fighting tux; and beside him, Mr. Crepsley.

My mentor was standing as proudly as ever as he faced the adoring crowd in his jet-black suit. His orange hair, carefully slicked back, was slightly longer in my dream than it was in real life. Around his neck he wore a black bow tie that rested neatly against his white dress shirt. He was smiling-something he rarely did-so whatever this occasion was, it had to be something good.

Suddenly, I heard organ music begin to play from somewhere on the side of the room. (As far as I knew, there were no real instruments in the actual Hall of Princes, but obviously anything goes in the realm of dreams.) It was a familiar tune; I knew I'd heard it somewhere before, I just couldn't place it. Everyone turned to the back of the room as the music carried on, watching as someone entered the Hall and began to slowly make her way down the open aisle.

I gasped aloud when I saw who it was: _Arra Sails_! Just like everyone else, she was straying from her casual outfit of a white tank top and khaki pants and instead wore a flowing pink gown that was puffy at the hems and trailed behind her. Her shiny black hair, instead of being tied in a thick braid, was hanging loosely at her hips. She carried a gorgeous bouquet of bright red roses in her fists as she gracefully moved among the adoring crowd. (I tried not to laugh when I saw the roses, thinking of Gavner's story and hoping, for Mr. Crepsley's sake, that there were no bugs to be found in these flowers.) Seeing her dressed that way, looking so...well, _girly..._it made me think how genuinely beautiful she really was, once you got past her hardened muscles and scars.

All at once, everything made sense to me. This was a _wedding_.

Of course, Mr. Crepsley and Arra had never 'married' in the traditional human sense, but I suppose this is what it would look like if they were to actually have a ceremony. Arra never took her eyes off the platform as she stepped in time with the organ music (which I now recognized as the typical wedding hymn). Likewise, Mr. Crepsley looked longingly into his bride-to-be's eyes, finally taking her hands in his as she ascended the steps to the platform. They both took a moment to smile at each other before the ceremony began.

When I looked to see who the priest was, I almost fell off my bench in hysterics. Paris Skyle, the oldest living vampire, was presiding over the event, holding a Bible in his hands as he began the marriage formalities. I found this quite funny on several levels; aside from the fact that vampires were believed to be repealed by all things involving God, I doubted Paris could even read (many vampires were illiterate). Still, he looked the part with his long white beard and shriveled skin, and he never missed a beat as he recited the biblical words to the crowd.

I basically tuned out most of what was said-I quickly grew bored by the bland formalities-but my interest suddenly peaked when Paris finally got to the marriage vows. Gavner, apparently the ring bearer and Mr. Crepsley's best man, distributed the gold bands and stepped aside. Arra and Mr. Crepsley wordlessly exchanged their rings, trying to contain their smiles as they did so. Afterwards, Paris began reciting the typical vows:

"Do you, Arra Sails, take this man, Larten Crepsley, to be your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

Arra didn't hesitate; she locked gazes with Mr. Crepsley, and confidently said, "I do."

"And do you, Larten Crepsley, takes this woman, Arra Sails, to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do." It was the most simplistic sentence I'd ever heard Mr. Crepsley say, yet it carried with it so much more meaning than one of his lengthy, elaborate rants could convey.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," Paris said. "You may kiss the bride."

As the large crowd applauded and cheered, Mr. Crepsley cupped Arra's chin in his hands and bent down to press his lips to hers. Arra wrapped her arms around Mr. Crepsley's neck as she returned the passionate kiss. I found myself sincerely clapping for the newlywed pair in front of me; seeing them so happy together made me forget my selfish reasons for not wanting them to mate again. It wouldn't be too bad, having a good friend like Arra around more often. If they wanted to 're-mate' in real life, then I decided that I would support them wholeheartedly.

Mr. Crepsley and Arra abruptly ended their kiss and linked arms as they descended down the rather long flight of stairs to the aisle down below, losing all sense of their usual dignity as they laughed and ran like giddy schoolchildren through the excited gathering. Somewhere out in the distance, wedding bells chimed, growing louder and louder with each _ding-dong! _until finally the sound was too much for me to bear...

My eyes suddenly snapped open, and just like that I was back in my bed chamber in Vampire Mountain, covered once again in burns and bandages. (I'd enjoyed the short respite my dreams had given me from those annoyances, and I mouthed a silent curse at having been stuck with them again.) The room was much darker than it had been when I'd previously been awake; Mr. Crepsley must have put out most of the torches along the walls, leaving barely enough light to see by.

I was about to roll over and tell Mr. Crepsley that I was awake when I heard someone from the doorway quietly say, "Sorry I'm so late, Larten. The Princes kept us busy all night with lectures about 'vampaneze this' and 'vampaneze that.' I just now managed to get away from it all."

"It is all right, Arra," I heard Mr. Crepsley assure her in that same quiet tone. "Never mind the time at which you arrive; I am just glad that you are able to arrive at all."

As much as I hated to be nosy, I also didn't want to miss out on whatever conversation the two would have when under the impression that they were away form prying ears. So, I quickly shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep as I listened to Arra approach my hammock. (I was facing the wall and had my back turned to both her and Mr. Crespsley, so this wasn't that hard to do.) I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder as Arra whispered, "How has he been?"

"Considerably better," Mr. Crepsley reported from his chair. "He is a trooper, that boy. Not many people could emerge from the Hall of Flames still intact-and refrain from complaining about the lingering pain, no less."

I smiled at Mr. Crepsley's compliment.

"You're right," Arra agreed, affectionately running her hand up and down my shoulder. "He's definitely something special. Forget the burns; it would take some far more horrific injury to slow Darren down."

"Like venom stings and poison ivy combined?" Mr. Crepsley suggested slyly, an audible smile in his voice, as I listened in bewilderment; I was surprised that the naturally grumpy vampire could actually crack a joke.

Arra suddenly giggled as she caught the reference. "I'd forgotten all about that!" she quietly exclaimed. "How long ago did that-fifty years ago?"

"Fifty-five," Mr. Crepsley corrected.

I didn't have to be able to see her to know that Arra was rolling her eyes. "Ever the precise one," she muttered to herself before getting lost in her memories. "I remember that day...you venturing off into the woods, promising to bring me back some sort of extravagant gift, me waiting in suspense for the amazing surprise my boyfriend was going to give me." She snorted in good-natured way. "Some surprise! I had to spend the entire day nursing you and your obsequious self back to health. Even then, you were the same, stuffy suck-up that you are now."

Mr. Crepsley didn't lose his temper at Arra's insult like I'd expected him to; instead, he merely chuckled and replied, "Any man would suffer through Mother Nature's top-notch line of offense"-he meant the bugs and poison ivy-"in order to impress a beautiful woman like you."

"There you go again," Arra teased, but I could tell that Mr. Crepsley's remark had genuinely flattered her. She suddenly lifted her hand from my shoulder walked over to where her former mate was seated and pulled up a chair next to him. "Those were some good times, weren't they?" she mused aloud.

"Very good," Mr. Crepsley corrected again, this time out of fondness rather than precision. "Some of the best of my life."

"You know, Larten," Arra began nervously, "seeing you again... spending time with you... it's made me realize something."

"What is that?" Mr. Crepsley inquired. He listened intently for her response, and so did I; was she about to proclaim her everlasting love for him or something?

That 'something' turned out to be nothing like what I thought it would be. "I really miss what we used to have between us, that... _friendship._" She seemed to smile as she stressed the word, then paused briefly before seriously prompting Mr. Crepsley. "Don't you?"

I didn't care that it might blow my cover; I quickly turned around in my hammock and cracked my eyelids open to see how Mr. Crepsley would respond to that.

He wasted no time with his answer. Reaching over to where she sat, Mr. Crepsley took his ex-mate's hands in his own and said, "I do, Arra. Really, I do."

With that, I grinned privately to myself and decided to go back to sleep, leaving the two mates to peacefully reminisce.


End file.
